Washington Nationals

As we count down the final days of 2014, we’re counting down the 10 most significant moments of the year for the Nationals. These aren’t necessarily positive (or negative) moments, merely significant in the big picture and defined the Nationals’ year. We continue today with significant moment No. 9: Drew Storen replacing Rafael Soriano as…

The Nationals have signed veteran reliever Heath Bell to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training, a club source confirmed Monday afternoon. Bell — who announced the news via a self-written essay on The Players’ Tribune, a website for athletes created by Derek Jeter following his retirement in October — was a 3-time…

As we count down the final days of 2014, we’re counting down the 10 most significant moments of the year for the Nationals. These aren’t necessarily positive (or negative) moments, merely significant in the big picture and defined the Nationals’ year. We begin today with significant moment No. 10: The decision to put Ross Detwiler…

Doug Fister grew up in central California and still calls it home. He pitched in Seattle and Detroit earlier in his career and enjoyed both cities. But there’s something particularly special about pitching in Washington for Fister, who has tried to make the most of his time living in the nation’s capital. Prominent politicians and…

Updated at 3:29 p.m. The complex, 3-team, 11-player trade that was agreed upon Wednesday is now official. But the prized shortstop prospect the Nationals will be receiving as part of the deal still can’t join his new organization for another six months. The Nationals announced their end of the trade Friday, with outfielder Steven Souza…

If the Nationals were trying to find a potential long-term replacement at shortstop should Ian Desmond leave one year from now, they certainly found themselves an intriguing candidate Wednesday in Trea Turner. The 21-year-old — one of two players the Nationals acquired from the Padres as part of the 3-team, 11-player trade that also sends…

Addressing a major organizational hole while dealing from a significant strength, the Nationals have agreed to be part of a 3-team trade with the Rays and Padres that will send outfielder Steven Souza Jr. to Tampa Bay and bring top shortstop prospect Trea Turner to Washington. The complex, 11-player deal, which is headlined by San…

There’s a growing amount of evidence to suggest the Tampa Bay Rays are closing in on a trade that would send 2013 AL Rookie of the Year Wil Myers to the San Diego Padres for a package of players. And there’s also a growing sense around the baseball world that if and when that trade…

Two winters ago, in the wake of a difficult postseason debut in which he gave up the runs that handed the Cardinals a 5-game NLDS victory over the Nationals, Drew Storen watched helplessly as general manager Mike Rizzo brought in a new closer, relegating him to a lesser relief role. So forgive Storen if privately…

Avoiding a grievance hearing that was set for Tuesday, the Nationals and Bryce Harper settled on their own late Sunday night, agreeing to a 2-year, $7.5 million contract that establishes the star outfielder’s salaries for both the 2015 and 2016 seasons, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. The two sides had been setting themselves…

Ryan Zimmerman has always understood the value of a good first baseman. And he’s determined to become one himself, now that he knows once and for all he’ll be moving across the diamond on a permanent basis. “I’ve been lucky to play with a couple really good first basemen,” the long-time third baseman said Saturday…

There were no shortage of topics to discuss Saturday at NatsFest, some of it related to on-the-field matters, some of it related to off-the-field matters. Sebastian Salazar and I addressed several pressing issues in this segment that aired on Comcast SportsNet. We talk about the biggest dilemma facing the Nationals right now (sign pending free…

The Nationals haven’t been contacted at all by the Blue Jays regarding any potential interest in Mike Rizzo for their team president position, a source with direct knowledge said Saturday afternoon. A report by ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick earlier in the day said Toronto has “expressed interest” in Rizzo as a candidate to replace Paul Beeston…

Updated at 5:05 p.m. Bryce Harper was a no-show Saturday at NatsFest, deciding not to make a public appearance only three days before a scheduled salary grievance hearing between the star outfielder and the organization. Harper was originally listed among more than 20 Nationals players who were scheduled to appear at the club’s annual winter…

Hello from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, home once again to NatsFest. There was a huge line of fans snaking around the floor level of the center waiting to get in before doors opened to season ticket holders, so it looks like there’s going to be a big turnout today. Most every player of…

Updated at 6:08 p.m. Ross Detwiler, whom the Nationals drafted No. 6 in the country seven years ago but never fully developed into the front-line starting pitcher they hoped, has seen his time with the organization come to an end. Detwiler was traded to the Rangers on Thursday afternoon for a pair of minor leaguers,…

SAN DIEGO — A Winter Meetings that saw the Nationals sign zero free agents and make zero trades concluded Thursday morning with zero players selected and zero players lost in both the major-league and minor-league portions of the annual Rule 5 draft. It’s the first time that has happened in club history, but it’s perhaps…

SAN DIEGO — The Nationals will have a starting second baseman by the time Opening Day rolls around, whether they sign a free agent, pull off a trade or even move Anthony Rendon back to the position (creating a hole at third base in the process). But the market for second basemen thinned some in…

SAN DIEGO — For all the buzz that seems to have descended upon the Winter Meetings this evening, the Nationals have yet to actually complete any transactions since arriving in town Sunday night. So, for those wondering if anything has happened along the lines of this headline-grabbing tweet from a couple hours ago, rest assured…

SAN DIEGO — From the day they signed him to the largest contract in franchise history on the eve of the 2010 Winter Meetings, the Nationals knew the day might come when Jayson Werth would need to move to left field and open up right field for Bryce Harper. “We hope we have that problem…

SAN DIEGO — While most of you probably were tucked away in bed at 1:30 a.m. EST, the lobby here at the Manchester Grand Hyatt was abuzz, the news of Jon Lester’s signing with the Cubs sending everybody at the Winter Meetings into a late-night frenzy. The Lester saga had loomed over these entire meetings,…

SAN DIEGO — Matt Williams seemed to go out of his way this season to try to take pressure off Bryce Harper and not ask his 21-year-old outfielder to carry a Nationals lineup that featured plenty of other potent and experienced bats. But after seeing Harper finish 2014 strong after an injury-plagued first half, culminating…

SAN DIEGO — Matt Williams addressed a number of topics during his 31-minute Winter Meetings media session late Tuesday afternoon, including some interesting thoughts on the plan for Bryce Harper in 2015. (I’ll have a full post on that subject in the morning.) The recently crowned NL Manager of the Year revisited his first season…

SAN DIEGO — Though they didn’t meet Tuesday, the Nationals expect to sit down with Jordan Zimmermann’s representatives before leaving the Winter Meetings on Thursday morning. And both general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Matt Williams are hopeful the two sides can find the common ground on a long-term extension that has eluded them the…

SAN DIEGO — While most of the attention at these Winter Meetings has been on big-ticket free agents like Jon Lester and Billy Beane’s complete makeover of the Athletics, there’s been another intriguing, under-the-radar storyline that could bode quite well for one of the Nationals’ best players. Teams are starting to hand out record-setting contracts…